“I think it’s really important that people keep signing up to these type of trials to push research forward.”
A trial of selumetinib and docetaxel for non small cell lung cancer (SELECT-1)
Cancer type:
Lung cancer
Non small cell lung cancer
Status:
Results
Phase:
Phase 3
This trial was for people whose non small cell lung cancer had grown into surrounding tissues or spread elsewhere in the body. And whose lung cancer cells had a change (
) to a called KRAS.
More about this trial
Cancer that has grown into surrounding tissues or spread to another part of the body is called locally advanced or advanced cancer.
One of the usual treatments for advanced non small lung cancer (NSCLC) is a chemotherapy drug called docetaxel. You might have this on its own or alongside other chemotherapy drugs. But lung cancer is difficult to treat and it can continue to grow despite treatment. So researchers are looking for ways to improve treatment.
In this trial, they looked at a drug called selumetinib. It is a type of targeted cancer drug called a cancer growth blocker. It works by targeting a protein called . This stops signals that cancer cells use to divide and grow.
The researchers thought that having selumetinib with docetaxel might improve treatment for people whose lung cancer cells have a change to the KRAS gene.
In this trial, some people had docetaxel and selumetinib. And some had docetaxel and a dummy drug ().
The aims of the trial were to:
- find out which treatment worked best
- learn more about the side effects.
Summary of results
The trial team found that adding selumetinib to docetaxel did not improve treatment for people with advanced non small cell lung cancer with a change in the KRAS gene.
505 people took part in this trial. Everyone had at least one treatment for advanced cancer. They were put into 1 of the following treatment groups at random.
- 251 had docetaxel and selumetinib
- 254 had docetaxel and a dummy drug
The trial team looked at the average length of time people lived without signs of their cancer getting worse. This is called progression free survival.
They found this was:
- 3.9 months in people who had docetaxel and selumetinib
- 2.4 months in people who had docetaxel and the dummy drug
They also looked at how long people lived for. This is called overall survival. On average, they found this was:
- 8.7 months in people who had docetaxel and selumetinib
- 7.9 months in people who had docetaxel and the dummy drug
People who had docetaxel and selumetinib had more problems with:
- diarrhoea
- skin rash
- swelling of the hands and feet (peripheral oedema)
- weakness or lack of energy
- shortness of breath
70 people who had docetaxel and selumetinib needed to have their dose reduced due to side effects compared with 16 who had docetaxel and the dummy drug.
The trial team concluded that in people with advanced NSCLC with a change to the KRAS gene, selumetinib and docetaxel did not work any better than docetaxel on its own.
We have based this summary on information from the research team. The information they sent us has been reviewed by independent specialists () and published in a medical journal. The figures we quote above were provided by the trial team who did the research. We have not analysed the data ourselves.
Recruitment start:
Recruitment end:
How to join a clinical trial
Please note: In order to join a trial you will need to discuss it with your doctor, unless otherwise specified.
Please note - unless we state otherwise in the summary, you need to talk to your doctor about joining a trial.
Chief Investigator
Dr Fiona Blackhall
Supported by
AstraZeneca
NIHR Clinical Research Network: Cancer
If you have questions about the trial please contact our cancer information nurses
Freephone 0808 800 4040
Last review date
CRUK internal database number:
11578
Please note - unless we state otherwise in the summary, you need to talk to your doctor about joining a trial.
Charlie took part in a trial to try new treatments
